Adjustable curtain



A J y 1 1938. H. GELL ER 2,123,413

I ADJUSTABLE CURTAIN Filed Aug. 10, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY July 12, 1938. GELLER 2,123,413

ADJUSTABLE CURTAIN Filed Au 10, 1935 2 S heets-Sheet 2 I I 0 v 4 7 4f 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 12, 1938 PATENT orrlcs 2.123.413 ADJUSTABLE oun'rsm Hugo Geller, New York, N. Y.,

assignor to Patchogue-Plymouth Mills Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 10, 1935, Serial No. 35,620

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in adjustable curtains such as are disclosed generally in my issued Patent No. 1,971,! 12, granted August 28, 1934, and the present application is a continuation in part. of my applications, Serial No. 741,614, filed August 27, 1934 now Patent No.

2,083,991, patented June 15, 1937, and Serial No.

1357,121, filed June 3,. 1935, now Design Patent No. 96,539, patented August 13, 1935.

. One object of this invention is a ready-to-hang adjustable curtain which may be variously draped to expose or conceal substantially all of the curtain rod for. any selected length adjustment.

Another object is to effect an appreciable change in ornamental eil'ect viewed fromopposite sides of the curtain rod, at any selected line of suspension.

Other objects will appear from the detailed description which follows.

According to this invention, the curtain is made appreciably longer than the conventional nonvalance curtain formerly used for any given size window, so that the curtain top constitutes in eflect an extension of the corresponding conventional curtain throughout its width; and a plurality of horizontal rod-engaging passageways including rows of eyelets are fashioned in the said curtain top or extension, said passageways which are large enough to allow the free passage of a conventional curtain rod may be made to simulate the appearance of ornamental bands woven in the curtain top as an integral part of the pattern, said curtain top or extension being of such dimensions that when one of the rod-engaging passageways other than the top one is used as the line of suspension for the curtain rod. the surplus fabric which is not utilized to extend the body portion of the curtain is conserved in the form of an ornamental cufl' or a valance, dependout upon the manner of folding. The horizontal rows of eyelets are so arranged, that the eyelet openings in at least one horizontal row are in alignment with the tongues or spacers between adjacent eyelets of one (or more) other horizontal rows, so that when folded to regulate the length of the curtain, the tongues or spacers will register with and extend through the eyelet openings in the adjacent row to form a row of horizontaiiy disposed loops through which the curtain rod may be threaded thereby locking the folded curtain against change of length and the tongues or spacers against change of position. The rod-engaging passageways are preferably spaced apart so that the distance therebetween represents generally the amount of shrinkage in laundering, so that when the curtain is rehung after laundering it may be suspended from another rod-engaging passageway constituting a new line of suspension so as to display the same length of curtain down hanging from the curtain rod as before. By this construction the curtain is likewise made adjustable to windows of different lengths without cutting or stitching thereby greatly increasing the usefulness of the curtain under various window length conditions.

In the drawings comprising two sheets of seven figures numbered Figs. 1 to '7 inclusive. one embodiment of the invention is set forth.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a curtain.

Fig. 2 is an end view of a modified form of the curtain of Fig. 1 in hung position.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the curtain suspended to effect minimum length adjustment.

Fig. 4 is a front view of a portion of a curtain suspsnded to effect intermediate length adjustmen Fig. 5 is a view of the curtain of Fig. 4 looking from the reverse side thereof.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of a portion of a curtain suspended to efiect minimum length adjustment; and

Fig. 7 is a view of the curtain of Fig. 6 looking from the opposite side thereof.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures oi the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, the curtain Ill consists of a body portion l8 extending from the lower end of the curtain indicated by the hem 18, to the upper end of the body portion which terminates in the bottom rod-engaging passageway formed by the lowermost row of eyelets 11-'l8, which eyelet passageway in effect approximates the normal line of suspension for the curtain. Instead of terminating the curtain and finishing off its top edge immediately above the rod-engaging eyelet passageway formed in the band 89, the curtain fabric is extended to provide a surplus of fabric constituting an extension or curtain top which may be conserved, or utilized to adjust the length of the curtain when draped on a longer window or to compensate for shrinkage of the curtain as in laundering. Said surplus of fabric may be of any desired length but in general it has been found that very satisfactory results may be obtained when three rod-engaging passageways are fabricated, in which case the length of said surplus fabric is preferably such that the vertical distance from the finished edge of the upper extremity of the curtain to the bottom of 5 the band 88 measures approximately 9 inches overall. The eyelets are large enough to permit the free passage of the conventional curtain rod, eyelets approximately one inch long are satisfactory. The bands 18, 18 and 88 in which the eyelets are woven may be longer than the eyelets; when the surplus fabric top portion is 9 inches long, bands 1 inches long are satisfactory. The eyeletsrnay be arranged on 3% inch vertical centers. The spacing 14 and 18 between bands 18-18 and 18-88 may be of the same mesh or weave as the body portion I8.

The curtain l8 may be woven on a lace making machine (such as a Nottingham lace curtain machine, Levers machine or the like), in which case the eyelet passageways formed in the bands 18, 18 and 88, may form a part of the curtain pattern. In the closer weaves one may prefer to form the eyelets in the plain fabric, but in curtains which are coarsely woven, the eyelets are preferably woven in a series of horizontal bands of fine mesh, forming part of the pattern, such as is indicated at 18, 18 and 88 of Fig. 1. The lace bands 18, 18 and 88 may form any preferred clothing effect to enhance the ornamental appearance of the curtain. It should of course be understood that the simple net indicated in the body portion i8 might if preferred be replaced by a more elaborate weave.

In alternate bands as for example bands 18 and 88 the eyelets 81-48, and 11-18 are arranged in pairs corresponding eyelets in each band being vertically aligned. The eyelets 81-88 are separted by a narrow strip of fabric or tongue 88; similarly the eyelets 1118 are separated by a narrow strip of fabric or tongue 18. Each pair of eyelets 81-88 is separated from the adjacent pair in the same band 18 by the relatively wide strip of fabric or spacer 18, and each pair of eyelets 11-18 is similarly separated by the relatively wide strip of fabric or spacer 8| forming part of the band 88. The band positioned between bands 18 and 88 is provided with a row of eyelets 1|, each eyelet 1| being in vertical alignment with corresponding tongues 68 and 19. When the surplus fabric top portion is folded once (or twice) to effect length adjustment, tongues 88 (if folded once Fig. 4), or 88 and 18 (if folded twice Figs. 3, 6, and 7) will register with correspondingly aligned eyelets 1|. Eyelets 1| are large enough to receive tongues 88 and 18 simultaneously. Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the tongues 88 (Fig. 5), or 88 and 18 (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7) will pass through eyelets 1| to provide locking loops through which the curtain rod l8 may be threaded to lock the plies of the formed fold, produced by folding the surplus fabric top portion in the manner illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive. When the curtain is folded in the manner shown in Figs. 4 to 7, the two or three plies of fabric form an ornamental cuff, but by folding the surplus fabric top portion along the middle of the band 18 only, the eyelets 1| will register with tongues 18, and the upper edge of the curtain will hang down over the upper end of body portion Hi to form a valance or overdrape, substantially as shown in Figs. 17 and 18, of my co-pending application Serial No. 741,614, filed August 27, 1934.

By weaving the eyelets 1| in alignment with the tongues 68 (and/or 18) as shown in Fig. 1, the curtain may be suspended to conceal substantially all of the rod l8 (Figs. 4 and 7), or to expose substantially all of the rod I8 (Figs. 5 and 6). The curtain may be reversed to expose or conceal the rod without removing the rod or refolding the curtain. The curtain may either be spread wide upon the rod l8, as shown in Figs. 4 to 7, or it may be drawn more closely together to form sinuous pleats as shown in the drawings of my issued Patent No. 1,971,712, granted August 28, 1934. The bottom and side edges may be hemmed as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a line of stitches as shown at l8 and 82, or the curtain may be finished off in any other preferred manner as by a rolled edge, or selvage edge, or otherwise.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the curtain is suspended to effect intermediate length adjustment. In Figs.

, 6 and 7 the curtain is suspended to effect minimum length adjustment.- It should of course be understood that the curtain may be threaded on the uppermost row of eyelets only to effect maximum length adjustment. By regulating the size of the eyelets 1|, the curtain may be arranged to lock itself in any selected position relative to red l8. By reducing the size of eyelets 1|, the tongues 68 and 19 will be caused to bind upon the rod, thereby, locking the curtain to the rod when the curtain is suspended as shown in Figs. 4 to 7.

It will be observed that the uppermost eyelet passageway formed by the eyelets 61 and 68 is relatively close to the extreme upper edge of the curtain, which edge is finished off with a selvage, or by hemming, or in any other preferred manner, so that the edge band above the curtain rod will always stand erect even when the curtain is suspended from the uppermost eyelet passageway only. The erect appearance of the curtain can be best visualized by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The outermost eyelets 81--11 and 68-48 are positioned relatively close to the side edges of the curtain, which edges are also finished off in any preferred manner as by a selvage or by hemming. One or both side edges may be finished oil. with a relatively wide hem as indicated at 82 in Fig. 1. By placing the outermost vertical rows of eyelets 81-11 and 88-18 relatively close to the side edges, better draping effects are obtained.

The pattern is preferably woven in such a manner, so that when the surplus fabric top portion is folded in any of the ways shown in the drawings the ornamental designs woven in the curtain fabric are brought into optical registry thereby enhancing the eye appearance of the hung curtain.

The curtain i8 may likewise be provided with a hem at the upper end of the surplus fabric top portion to provide a combination eyelet passageway and hemmed passageway for receiving ourtain rod IS. A combination eyelet passageway and hemmed passageway is fully described in my co-pending application Serial No. 741,614, filed August 27, 1934, and the manner of constructing the same is fully disclosed in Figs. 20 to 24 both inclusive, of the drawings of the said application. In the curtain construction disclosed and described herein a combination eyelet and hemmed passageway may be formed by merely folding the surplus fabric top portion along the middle line of band 14 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, thereby bringing tongues 19 into registry with eyelets 1|. While retaining the surplus fabric top portion folded in this manner, the hem may be made permanent by one or more lines of stitches 83 and 84 similar to the line of stitches |8 used in forming the bottom hem |1, traversing the width of the surplus fabric top portion across the line of selvage defining the extreme upper edge of the curtain (when unfolded; compare Figs. 1 and 2). In addition to passing through said selvage edge, said lines of stitches 83 and 84 would also pass through the closely woven clothing which unites band 15 with the spacing strip I8 and which unites bands 13 and I! with the spacing strip 14. With a hem formed in this manner it should of course be understood that rod it might be inserted either inthe hem, or threaded through the eyelets 61 and 68 formed in the one wall of the hem, or threaded through the eyelets 1! formed in the other wall of the hem, or threaded through the tongues 69 protruding through the eyelets H as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

It should of course be understood that when the curtain is removed from the rod IQ for laundering the fabric has a tendency to shrink, so that if the curtain were folded and rehung as before, the curtain would present the appearance of being too short for the window. To overcome this, the surplus fabric top portion may be wholly or partly released so as to form a part of the body portion, and the curtain folded and suspended in the manner shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to effect intermediate length adjustment, or if need be the rod it may be threaded through the uppermost eyelet passageway formed by eyelets 6'l6fl only,

to effect maximum lengthadjustment. Similarly I a curtain purchased originally to fit a specific window length may be draped on a longer window by merely releasing the surplus fabric top portion from the rod and employing it as a means of extending the body portion it of the curtain. In this way the necessity of procuring a complete new set of curtains upon removal to another place of residence having windows of somewhat different length, may frequently be avoided.

What is claimed is:

1. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang adjustable curtain having a body portion and a surplus fabric top portion merging with theupper end of the body portion and in extension thereof, a plurality of horizontal rows of eyelets formed in said top portion constituting rodengaging eyelet passageways for extending the body portion of the curtain to effect length adjustment, the eyelets in one of said rows being alternately positioned in narrowly and widely spaced relation to define pairs of eyelets, the narrow strip of fabric extending between eyelets of the same pair constituting a tongue, and the eyelets in the next adjacent row being positioned in alignment with said tongues, the curtain being foldable to bring said row of tongues into cooperative registry with said row of tongue aligned eyelets, said tongues engaging through said aligned eyelets to form loops for receiving a curtain rod thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent any change of curtain length when said curtain is suspended in hung position.

2.'As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang adjustable curtain having a body portion and a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of the body portion and in extension thereof, a plurality of horizontal rows of eyelets formed in said top portion constituting rodengaging eyelet passageways for extending the body portion of the curtain to effect length adjustment thereof, the spacing between said rows measuring generally the shrinkage in said ourtain as in washing, the eyelets in one of said rows being alternately positioned in narrowly and widely spaced relation to define pairs of eyelets,

, the narrow strip of fabric extending between eyelets of the same pair forming a tongue, and the eyelets in the next adjacent row being positioned in alignment with said tongues,

tongues into cooperative registry with said row of tongue aligned eyelets, said tongues passing through said aligned eyelets to form loops for receiving acurtain rod thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent any change of curtain length when said cur-,

tain is suspended in hung position.

3. As an article of manufacture a ready-to hang adjustable curtain having a body portion and a surplus fabric top portion operable to extend the body portion to eflect length adjustment thereof, the portion of said surplus fabric not so utilized being foldable to form an ornamental top defining either a cuif or a valance dependent upon the surplus available for folding and the mannerof folding the same, a horizontal row of eyelets positioned at the line of merger of said body and top portions and constituting a free passageway for a rod whereon the curtain is suspendable to effect minimum length adjustment, said eyelets being positioned in spaced relation to define pairs of eyelets, the fabric between adjacent eyelets of the same pair forming a tongue, a second horizontal row of eyelets formed in said surplus fabric in parallel spaced relation to said first row of eyelets constituting a second free passageway for a rod whereon the curtain is separately suspendable to extend the body portion, the eyelets in said second horizontal row being positioned in alignment with said tongues, and the curtain being foldable to bring said row of tongues into cooperative registry with the eyelets in said second horizontal row, said tongues engaging through said aligned eyelets to form loops for receiving a curtain rod thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent any change of curtain length.

4. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang adjustable curtain having a body portion and a surplus fabric top portion operable to extend the body portion to effect length adjustment thereof, the portion of said surplus fabric not so utilized being foldable to form an ornamental top defining either a cuff or "a valance dependent upon the surplus available for folding and the manner of folding the same, a horizontal row of eyelets positioned at the line of merger of said body and top portions and constituting a free passageway for a rod whereon the curtain is suspendable to effect minimum length adjustment, said eyelets being positioned in spaced relation to define pairs of eyelets, the fabric between adjacent eyelets of the same pair forming a tongue, a second horizontal row of eyelets formed in said surplus fabric in parallel spaced relation to said first row of eyelets constituting a second free passageway for a rod whereon the curtain is separately suspendable to extend the body portion, the eyelets in said second horizontalrow being positioned in alignment with said tongues, the spacing between said rows of eyelets measuring generally the shrinkage in said curtain in washing, the curtain being foldable to bring said tongues into cooperative registry with said aligned eyelets, said tongues engaging through said aligned eyelets to form loops for receiving a curtain rod thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent any change of curtain length when said curtain is suspended in hung position, and a finished edge band at the upper extremity of the top portion, the uppermost passageway being in close proximity to said edge band.

5. As an article of manufacture a ready-to hang adjustable curtain having a body portion and a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of the body portion and in extension thereof, three horizontal rows of eyelets formed in said top portion constituting rod-engaging passageways, said top portion being operable to variously extend the body portion to effect length adjustment thereof, the portion of said fabric not so utilized being foldable to form an ornamental top defining either a cuff or a valance dependent upon the surplus fabric available ior folding, the manner of folding, and the number of passageways simultaneously threaded upon the rod, one of said rows of eyelets being positioned at the line of merger of said top and body portions, another adjacent the upper extremity of the top portion, and a third midway therebetween, the eyelets in said first and second mentioned rows being positioned in spaced relation to define pairs of eyelets, the fabric between adjacent eyelets of the same pair forming a tongue, the eyelets in the intermediate passageway being positioned in alignment with said tongues, the spacing between two of said rows of eyelets measuring generally the shrinkage in said curtain in washing, the curtain being foldable to bring said tongues into cooperative registry with said row of eyelets aligned with said tongues, and said tongues engaging through said aligned eyelets to form loops for receiving a curtain rod thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent any change of curtain length when said curtain is suspended in hung position.

6. As an article of manufacture a curtain having a body portion and a surplus fabric top portion in extension thereof, a horizontal row of eyelets positioned at the line of merger of said body and top portions and constituting a rod-engaging eyelet passageway, the eyelets being positioned in spaced relation to define pairs of eyelets, the fabric between eyelets of the same pair forming a tongue, a second row of eyelets formed in said top in parallel spaced relation to said first eyelet passageway, the eyelets in said second row being positioned in alignment with said tongues, said top portion being reversely horizontally folded midway between said rows of eyelets to bring the tongues into cooperative registry with said second row of eyelets, said tongues being operable in conjunction with said second row of eyelets to form'loops for receiving a curtain rod, and a line of stitches passing through the folded plies of fabric adjacent the free top edge of the top portion to form a hem and to retain said tongues in position of registry relative to said aligned eyelets, said hem being large enough to constitute an additional rod-engaging passageway for the curtain.

'1. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohanglace curtain having a body portion of relatively open network, a lace band of relatively close network traversing the upper end of said body portion, a row of eyelets formed in said lace band, said eyelets indicating the normal line of suspension for the curtain and constituting a rodengaging eyelet passageway whereon said curtain is made ready-to-hang, said curtain having a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of the body portion in extension of said lace band, a row of eyelets formed in said surplus fabric top portion in parallel spaced relation to sa'idband and constituting a second rod-engaging passageway whereon the curtain may be independently suspended to effect length adjustment thereof, the eyelets in one of said rows being alternately positioned in narrowly and widely spaced relation to deflne pairs of eyelets. the narrow strip of fabric extending between eyelets of the same pair constituting a tongue, and the eyelets in the other rod-engaging passageway being so positioned relative to said tongues that when said surplus fabric is folded midway between said passageways, said tongues engage with said eyelets to form loops for receiving a curtain rod thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent any change of curtain length and to form an ornamental upstanding curtain heading for said curtain when suspended in hung position.

8. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang lace curtain having a body portion of relatively open network, a lace band of relatively close network traversing said body portion at its upper end, a surplus fabric top portion forming an extension of said lace band, said band having a row of tongues formed therein indicating the normal line of suspension for the curtain and cooperating with said band to constitute a rodengaging passageway whereon said curtain is made read-to-hang, and a row of eyelets formed in said surplus fabric top portion in parallel spaced relation to said band and constituting a second rod-engaging passageway whereon the curtain may be independently suspended to effect length adjustment thereof, said surplus fabric top portion being transversely foldable to bring the individual tongues formed in said band into engagement with the individual eyelets formed in said surplus fabric to form loops through which a curtain rod may be threaded thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent change of curtain length andforming an ornamental selfsupporting curtain heading for the curtain when thus suspended on the rod in hung position.

9. As an article of manufacture a ready-to hang lace curtain having a body portion of relatively open network merging at its upper end with a lace strip of relatively close network constituting a transversely disposed band, a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of said lace band and in extension thereof, said surplus fabric top portion terminating at its upper end in a lace strip of relatively close network constituting a second band, said bands being arranged in parallel spaced relation, one of said bands having a row of tongues formed therein and cooperating therewith to constitute a rodengaging passageway defining one line of suspension for a ready-to-hang curtain, a row of eyelets formed in the other band and constituting a second rod-engaging eyelet passageway whereon the curtain may be independently suspended to effect length adjustment thereof, said surplus fabric top portion being transversely foldable to effect inter-engagement of the tongues and the eyelets to form a row of loops through which a curtain rod may be threaded, thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent change of ourtain length and forming an ornamental self-supporting heading for the curtain when thus suspended on the curtain rod in hung position.

10. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang lace curtain having a body portion, a lace band of relatively close network traversing the upper end of the body portion, a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of said band and operable to extend the body portion to eflect length adjustment of the curtain, said surplus fabric including a plurality of other lace bands of relatively close network, said close network being substantially opaque, said bands being arranged in parallel spaced relation to each other, the bands being provided in alternation with either a row of tongues or a row of eyelets, each row indicating a different line of suspension for the curtain and constituting an independent rod-engaging passageway whereon said curtain is made ready-to-hang, said surplus fabric top portion being transversely foldable between bands to form either a cuff or a valance dependent upon the manner of folding, to eifect inter-engagement of the registering tongues and eyelets to form a row of loops through which a curtain rod may be threaded, thereby locking the folded surplus fabric to prevent change -of curtain length and transforming said surplus either into a valance depending from the curtain rod, or into an ornamental heading for the curtain above the rod, when the curtain is suspended upon the rod in hung position.

11. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang lace curtain having a body portion, a lace band of relatively close network traversing the upper end of the body portion, a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of said band and operable to extend the body portion to effect length adjustment of the curtain, said surplus fabric including a plurality of other lace bands of relatively close network, said close network being substantially opaque, said bands being arranged in parallel spaced relation to each other, said surplus fabric terminating in a finished top edge adjacent the upper edge of the uppermost band, the bands being provided in alternation with either a row of tongues or a row of eyelets, each row indicating a different line of suspension for the curtain and constituting an independent rod-engaging passageway whereon said curtain is made ready-to-hang, said surplus fabric top portion being transversely foldable between bands to form either a cuff or a valance dependent upon the manner of folding, to effect inter-engagement of the registering tongues and eyelets thus forming a row of loops through which a. curtain rod may be threaded to lock the folded surplus fabric against change of curtain length and transforming said surplus into either a va1- ance depending from the curtain rod, or an ornamental heading for the curtain above the rod, when the curtain is suspended upon the rod in hung position.

12. As an article of manufacture a ready-tohang lace curtain having a body portion, a lace band of relatively close network traversing the upper end of the body portion, a surplus fabric top portion merging with the upper end of said band and operable to extend the body portion to effect length adjustment of the curtain, said surplus fabric including a plurality of other lace bands of relatively close network, said close network being substantially opaque, said bands being arranged in parallel spaced relation to each other, the bands being provided in alternation with either a row of tongues or a row of eyelets, each row indicating a different line of suspension for the curtain and constituting an independent rod-engaging passageway whereon said curtain is made ready-to-hang, the spacing between adjacent passageways measuring generally the shrinkage of said curtain in washing, the upper end of the surplus fabric top portion being folded midway between the uppermost and next to the uppermost bands to bring the tongues and eyelets in said adjacent passageways into position to effect inter-engagement, and means for conserving said folded surplus fabric comprising a removable line of stitches passing through the folded piles of fabric to form ahem large enough to constitute an additional rod-engaging passageway for the 'curtain, said line of stitches being removable to effect further length adjustment of the curtain.

HUGO GELLER. 

